It’s almost inconceivable: Sick, frightened dogs crammed together in tiny cages bound for the meat market. Unfortunately in China, where dogs are eaten year-round, and more so during colder months, it’s a standard sight. But things may be changing. In an unprecedented move, Chinese authorities, tipped off by an animal-welfare center, confiscated 149 dogs belonging to an illegal trader in Sichuan Province on December 31, 2008.

“The dogs were in an appalling condition, many of them very thin and clearly in shock,” said Jill Robinson, founder and CEO of Animals Asia Foundation, which has been funding and providing medical care for the rescue. “I hate to think how long they had been in those cages, many of them packed in so tightly that they were piled on top of each other. We heard terrible screams coming from some of the cages, where terrified dogs were biting each other.”

Many of the dogs were wearing collars and were possibly stolen pets; others had been collected as strays from the streets, according to Robinson. She applauded the authorities for their quick action, which spared the dogs the terror of a four-day journey to Guangzhou with no food or water and a brutal death. Dogs are often slowly beaten to death in the misguided belief that “torture equals taste.”

During the past few weeks, Animals Asia has provided ongoing medical care (and funding for dog food) in a quarantine area at Qiming Rescue Centre, where the foundation built temporary shelter for dogs rescued from the Sichuan earthquake. The troubles for these dogs are far from over. Many suffer from disease; others are extremely aggressive. Read a recent update, dispatches from Jill Robinson's blog (with the latest on Little Eddie in the photo) and learn how you can support the foundation’s efforts.